With falling objects one of the leading causes of workplace death and serious injury, safety consultant Gary Rowe explains how to reduce the risk of tools and other objects falling from elevated work areas, lifting equipment and racking.
Road transport drivers will have the discretion to amend an employer or hirer's "safe driving plan" to include additional rest breaks, while employers will be required to put drivers through OHS training, under a draft remuneration order released for public comment.
In this update, OHS Alert examines all the important OHS and workers' comp legislative changes made in the second quarter of 2013. We also recap the most significant court and tribunal rulings and other developments in each jurisdiction.
Insurance policies that cover directors' OHS fines - as seen in the Adelaide desalination plant case - will force regulators to seek jail terms for offenders, or to have such contracts declared void under consumer laws, two prominent legal experts have told OHS Alert.
Employers that prioritise "legal liability minimisation" over operational needs when engaging contractors are more likely to have safety incidents and end up in court, according to OHS lawyer Michael Tooma.
The NBN and home insulation safety scandals highlight the risks of relying on contractors to do the right thing on OHS, and a systemic failure to consider safety in public policy design, according to Norton Rose Fulbright partner Michael Tooma.
A new guide, developed in light of the Pike River Coal Mine tragedy, has clarified the role that company directors must play in the governance of workplace health and safety.
A safety incident has just occurred at your workplace. What happens next? OHS lawyer Michael Selinger has outlined the numerous steps employers should take immediately following an incident.
Apprentice-related supervision breaches can lead to recklessness fines; Queensland removes earthmoving requirement from WHS Regulation; and South Australian WHS Act added to Fair Work right-of-entry laws.
